BENGALURU: 11 years ago, Badrunissa Irfan was in a comatose state for almost a month. Doctors had lost hope but Irfan pulled along. Today, over a decade after the incident, Irfan is sharing what she experienced for the first time, through her art works. Titled ‘Freedom of the Soul’, 35 paintings of Irfan will be on display at Sublime Galleria in UB City through the month of June.
Picking up her acrylic paints after a 20-year break, Irfan questions what a soul is through her paintings. “I had a near-death experience where I was in a state of coma for 23 days and was declared clinically dead twice. But I came back to life and what I witnessed during those days is what I have painted now. I want to convey the message I received from the Almighty through my art.”
While she took to art at a young age, her passion took a backseat when life and responsibilities took over. “It was my daughter Uzma [Uzma Irfan, director of Prestige Group], who encouraged me to pick up the brushes again. When I told her that my body cannot do what it used to before, she sent her daughter (my granddaughter) Alayna Zaid (who is also an artist) to sit with me while working,” she says, adding that she started work on her paintings in January this year.
Talking about her paintings, Irfan says, “You’ll find that most of my paintings are of open skies, mountains, gushing streams, animals and birds.” Starting at `75,000 and going up to `1,40,000,
all proceeds from this show will be donated to charity. She recalls how she couldn’t hear anyone except her daughter reading verses from the Quran every day.
“In my unconscious state, there was a scenario where I felt like I was looking at my own body from the outside,” she says. Every experience that she went through during that period comes to life in this series. “The colours that I use depend completely on my mood. I spend about two hours in the afternoon and another two in the evening and finish one painting within two days. It might take a little longer if it’s a bigger one,” Irfan adds.
Irfan believes she ‘came back to life’ to share what she has seen and witnessed. “I personally feel more connected with nature, animals, birds, flowers and fruits. I feel humans are hypocrites and so I use my art to share the beauty I believe in,” says Irfan, who is also the author of cookbook Duniya-e-Ziyafat.
(Freedom of the Soul will be showcased from June 1 to 30 at Sublime Galleria. All proceeds from this show will be donated to charity)